This invention relates generally to knee braces and more particularly to knee braces for use by the elderly.
Various knee braces in the form of elastic sleeves are commercially available and/or are disclosed in the patent literature for use on a person's knee to stabilize the joint and patella. Examples of such braces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,703,171 (Schiavitto), 3,934,583 (Hollingshead), 3,945,046 (Stromgren), 3,970,081 (Applegate), 4,064,874 (Valin), 4,084,584 (Detty), 4,116,236 (Albert), 4,250,578 (Barlow), 4,296,744 (Palumbo), 4,353,362 (DeMarco), 4,366,813 (Nelson), 4,370,978 (Palumbo), 4,474,573 (Detty), 4,476,857 (Levine), 4,765,318 (Per Tranberg et al.), 5,085,210 (Smith), 5,139,477 (Peters), 5,168,577 (Detty), and 5,334,135 (Grim). While such sleeves are generally suitable for their intended purposes, a large segment of the population, namely, the elderly, may be incapable of adequately using such braces since they no longer have sufficient hand strength and/or dexterity to pull the sleeve onto their knee.
Various wrap-around knee braces are commercially available and/or disclosed in the patent literature. Examples of such braces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,463,147 (Stubbs), 3,831,467 (Moore), 4,090,508 (Gaylord, Jr.), 4,651,722 (Karczewski), 4,378,009 (Rowley et al.), 5,024,216 (Hiono), 5,086,761 (Ingram), 5,221,252 (Caprio et al.), 5,399,153 (Caprio et al.), 5,451,201 (Prengler), and 5,472,413 (Detty).
While the aforementioned wrap-around braces are suitable for their intended purposes, and in some cases may be easier to apply than elastic sleeve braces, these wrap-around braces still leave something to be desired from the standpoint of applicability for the geriatric market.